Page 24 - June 2019

ON THE PATH

Is Anybody Listening?

James Wantz, DTM

“Hear ye! Hear ye! The end of the. . . tasty treat.)
“Please do not hang up the phone. We have Are you afraid no one is

important informa. . . listening to your speeches? Do you see eyes
“The American people don’t. . .” glaze over as soon as you start talking about
“You could be a winner! Just. . .” 3 ohm resistance on your flux capacitor?
I tuned out/hung up on those messages Do you read your PowerPoint slides then

recently. I know what they are going to say doesn’t lift your gaze to find your audience has
apply to me, will irritate me, or will cost me passed out? (Well, stop that...seriously!
money I don’t have. There are so many messages Don’t read your slides! Use a picture, a
competing for my time I have to decide which graphic, just not text...and proceed to read

get through the filters. it! Argh!) Are you the person in your club that
When I speak, I keep this in mind. Is what I people suddenly have emergency root canals
am saying important (or at least interesting) to whenever you are scheduled to speak?
my audience? Do they want to hear my message? Does that sound familiar? If so, those little

Have I tailored it to my audience? I don’t want messages - we call them non-verbals - could be
to speak if no one is listening. telling you something. Granted, messages won’t
Babbling along hoping someone will listen is resonate with 100% of the listeners 100% of the
too much like the food demo workers in Costco. time. My goal is that someone in the audience

They have an entire spiel about the product, (hopefully more) get the point of what I am
where its from, how nutritious it is, how not a trying to say...or write.
single GMO grain came within three zip codes For that matter, is anyone reading this
of the product, how convenient it is if you have article? I often sit at my desk when writing

2.4 seconds for dinner, and how it solved world articles and wonder if
hunger. (Soylent Green!) anyone besides the editor
I don’t listen to any of them. I grab the food reads them. Let’s find
and go. (If it’s available, that is. If there is no out, shall we? If, after

food, then I roll past, maybe do a lap around the reading this article,
frozen foods section pretending I’m looking for you send an email to
something that used to be RIGHT HERE, and the address at the end,
slip back into the food demo area in time for a letting me know you

24 ONE COMMUNITY